High school teacher who pokes fun at the rich now an internet sensation (VIDEO)
The rich — they’re nothing like us povvos. And it’s exactly why a British high school teacher has gained internet fame for his hilarious reactions to the lavish lifestyles of luxury influencers.
His Instagram and TikTok channels are filled with clips of him in bed wearing an Oodie while reacting to influencers’ videos from the perspective of an out-of-touch rich person. Videos range from simple motivational quotes (“If you’re poor, just stop. Stop being poor”) to a commentary on flavoured ice (“I’ve got a whole freezer just for ice and it doesn’t smell like curry like yours”).
Daily Hive caught up with Shabaz Ali, the chemistry teacher behind Shabaz Says who found Internet fame with the phrase, “In today’s episode of ‘I’m rich, you’re poor.'”
In the midst of a cost of living crisis, Ali appears to have touched a nerve and has managed to reclaim the word “povvo”, which he refers to as “colonizer slang.”
“The initial (meaning) is someone that comes from poverty,” he explained. “A povvo now, I feel like I’m spinning the word to reclaim it as someone that doesn’t overindulge or spend money on silly things, always wise with their money or frugal.”
Watch the interview below:
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As a teacher who used to work at a school in the middle of a wealthy and low-income neighbourhood, Ali has seen both sides.
“We saw kids getting dropped off in Bentleys versus kids that didn’t have shoelaces or fresh clean clothes,” he said, adding that some students wouldn’t even have a hot meal until they returned to school on Monday morning.
“The world that they’re growing up in tells them that they need to aspire to more,” said Ali. “They should be working hard to make money. The Andrew Tates of the world or the overindulgent influencers that are showing them that you need to buy a Birkin bag in order to be successful.”
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He admits that seeing the ever-widening class divide can be overwhelming but he didn’t want to lecture people about these issues.
“When you lecture people, they don’t want to hear it — they scroll past,” he said. “So it became the comedy route.”
As a result, his videos brimming with sarcasm have gained him 1.6 million TikTok followers and nearly 1.2 million Instagram followers.
“The deinfluncer movement doesn’t come from saying that influencers are wrong; it just comes from saying, ‘Well, you don’t need [whatever they’re selling],'” he said. “With online and social media, the people you see, you think you know them. It’s that abuse of trust that’s becoming a bit of an issue in social media.”
Now an influencer of sorts himself, Ali said that he hopes that he can put a more positive spin on what it means to be an influencer and use his platform to raise awareness for social justice issues.
As for future plans, he’ll be releasing a podcast and is currently writing a book, which will hopefully be out this Christmas. Ali will also be appearing in an upcoming episode of the British reality TV show “Strangers on a Plane” which is shot in various destinations.
“Everyone laughed and said, ‘What a povvo way to go on holiday: to get somebody else to pay for it,'” he said.
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